He made errors that would be mocked in the majors. He struck out. Would crafty big-league pitchers junk-ball him and stunt him permanently as a hitter? Was he prepared for big-city life? He sure looked ready to us 10-year-olds in the unreserved grandstand.
In hindsight, the Senators, who weren’t good at much, actually had a sensible handle on how to help Killebrew grow into an adult. No doubt his family’s strength was his core. His grandfather was said to be the strongest man in the Union Army (he won all available heavyweight wrestling titles). His father was a college football star, and Harmon was a high school all-American quarterback with an Oregon scholarship offer. The discipline was there. But who knows if those five years of delayed stardom, all that paying dues, allowed him to keep his modesty and maintain a sense of balance about himself?
Maturation means something different for everybody, and surely for every teen prodigy. The oldest story, they say, is: “Life attacks man at flaw line.” With Killebrew or Harper, now hitting .366 at Hagerstown, raw talent is the area of strength. But where is the flaw line? Nobody escapes.
Wouldn’t it be decent, wise or just good business to let a teenager have a little while longer to find it, work on it and shore it up?
Nats GM Mike Rizzo is aware of the Killebrew-Harper analogy. Though the bonus baby years should be thrown out, Killebrew’s 338 games in the minors aren’t irrelevant. While a few teens such as Alex Rodriguez arrive with half that experience, such speed is only justified if everything goes flawlessly.
“Harper needs his time in the minor leagues. He needs to show these guys [in the Nats’ locker room] that he has paid his dues,” Rizzo said. “He still has things to learn, on and off the field. When he does come up, if he has [difficulties], you do not want it to be because he wasn’t developed properly.”
As baseball celebrates Killebrew, let us underline what might be most unusual about him: For once, a wildly celebrated teenage athlete managed, both as a player and a person, to have a finish worthy of the start. Give Harper the same chance.
Loading...
Comments